Khmer script

Khmer
Cambodian
Âkkhârôkrâm Khmêr ("Khmer script") written in Khmer script
Script type
Time period
c. 611 – present[1]
DirectionLeft-to-right Edit this on Wikidata
Official scriptCambodia[2]
Languages
Related scripts
Parent systems
Child systems
Sukhothai, Khom Thai, Lai Tay
Sister systems
Old Mon, Cham, Kawi, Grantha, Tamil
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Khmr (355), ​Khmer
Unicode
Unicode alias
Khmer
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.
This article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script.
Brahmic scripts
The Brahmi script and its descendants
Northern Brahmic
Southern Brahmic
History of the alphabet

Khmer script (Khmer: អក្សរខ្មែរ, Âksâr Khmêr [ʔaksɑː kʰmae])[3] is an abugida (alphasyllabary) script used to write the Khmer language, the official language of Cambodia. It is also used to write Pali in the Buddhist liturgy of Cambodia and Thailand.

Khmer is written from left to right. Words within the same sentence or phrase are generally run together with no spaces between them. Consonant clusters within a word are "stacked", with the second (and occasionally third) consonant being written in reduced form under the main consonant. Originally there were 35 consonant characters, but modern Khmer uses only 33. Each character represents a consonant sound together with an inherent vowel, either â or ô; in many cases, in the absence of another vowel mark, the inherent vowel is to be pronounced after the consonant.

There are some independent vowel characters, but vowel sounds are more commonly represented as dependent vowels, additional marks accompanying a consonant character, and indicating what vowel sound is to be pronounced after that consonant (or consonant cluster). Most dependent vowels have two different pronunciations, depending in most cases on the inherent vowel of the consonant to which they are added. There are also a number of diacritics used to indicate further modifications in pronunciation. The script also includes its own numerals and punctuation marks.

  1. ^ Herbert, Patricia; Anthony Crothers Milner (1989). South-East Asia: languages and literatures : a select guide. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 51–52. ISBN 0-8248-1267-0.
  2. ^ "Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia". Office of the Council of Ministers. អង្គភាពព័ត៌មាន និងប្រតិកម្មរហ័ស. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  3. ^ Huffman, Franklin. 1970. Cambodian System of Writing and Beginning Reader. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-01314-0.